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[1-04] GOOD AS USUAL

Phoenix yells at Orie.

Content Warnings:

October 11th, XX19. 1:00 PM.

Orie is playing on her switch again. In the game, the character she's playing as wanders into a castle ruin. There are these glass-like blocks with little white specks on them all around the place, but she can't seem to do anything with them.

Down a path she uncovered, she dashes through dangerous and spiky areas to land on a ledge on the right.

ORIE:
"Woo! I did it!"

She walks to the next room where only a mirror stands in the center of the room. Thinking of it, she walks past it

Instead, the character realizes that her reflection showed a creepy and purple version of herself, before said purple version bursts outside the mirror and flies away.

ORIE:
"Hmmm..."

Orie begins to think about that.

Phoenix bursts through the doorway and sits in front of the TV, looking furious.

ORIE:
"Oh, hey Phoenix."

PHOENIX:
"DON'T even start with that!!!!"

Orie looks very confused as Phoenix stares daggers at Orie.

ORIE:
"Start with... Greeting you...?"

PHOENIX:
"Fuck off. What is YOUR partner. Doing on MY computer. In MY room. Rifling through MY SONG LISTS?!?"

Orie realizes Arakados has been in Phoenix's room consistently for a week.

ORIE:
"Ohhhhhh right! Wait. Why didn't you ask me a week ago?"

PHOENIX:
"I didn't care at first. In fact I actually like Arakados's company, she's pretty cute.
Anyway they haven't left my room for DAYS, and I'm going to LOSE MY FUCKING MIND if I don't get some ALONE TIME.
You know. ALONE."

ORIE:
"Hold on, wait, I'm not just going to ignore the fact that you just called Dakka cute!" ::o

PHOENIX:
"SHUT IT. That is NOT the point and you KNOW THAT!!!"

Orie sets down her game controller on the sofa next to her and sits up.

ORIE:
"She's trying to look for your 'super special secret,' that silly derg."

PHOENIX:
"My... my what?"

ORIE:
"She thinks there's some sort of secret song in your files or something, that you're embarrassed of and don't want us to know about."

PHOENIX:
"... No. I don't have a 'super septic secret'.... Or whatever you called it.
And besides, even if I did have some secret, I wouldn't hide it in my Musicboxe song lists.
I'd hide it like, somewhere else? Like, I don't know, a normal person?"

ORIE:
"Oh."

PHOENIX:
"And that's NOT AN INVITATION, you understand?
I don't even have any... er, secrets anyway."

ORIE:
"Uh-huh!"

Phoenix starts to turn toward the hall doorway she came out of toward the right of the TV.

PHOENIX:
"Good. Well, I'm going back to my room to sleep. I expect you to talk some sense into Dakk- er-, Arakados as soon as possibl-"

ORIE:
"Wait, don't leave yet!"

Phoenix stops to lock eyes with Orie.

ORIE:
"Do you have a minute or two?"

Orie gestures to the empty sofa seat next to her as Phoenix starts toward her again.

PHOENIX:
"It depends. What for?"

ORIE:
"To talk, you know... Like friends do."

PHOENIX:
"Noooo thank you, I'm not the talking type of dragon. You've got Arakados to yap to all day if you could keep them out of my damn room."

ORIE:
"Please? It's important."

Phoenix sighs and lightly pinches her claws on the bridge of her snoot. 

PHOENIX:
"Look, if you have something to tell me, just say it. I'm not sitting down."

ORIE:
"Alright, well...
First off, are you feeling okay?"

PHOENIX:
"What do you mean by that?"

ORIE:
"Like... mentally...?"

PHOENIX:
"About as good as usual. Why? Where is this coming from?"

Orie glances nervously at the bandage around Phoenix's forearm.

ORIE:
"You're not... Doing... Uhhhh...
Something with a knife, are you?"

Phoenix glares.

PHOENIX:
"What are you insinuating?"

ORIE:
"I'm just checking up on you...
I'm worried about you, you know?"

Phoenix bares her teeth at Orie threateningly.

PHOENIX:
"It's not YOUR business to worry about me, Orie.
Fucking hell, is everything that happens to me suddenly your business just because you 'care' about me?
Do you want me to give you a reward or something for pretending to care about me?
Or, what, do you think I'm your child or something? No. You're not my hatchparent, Orie.
You barely even know me. I only live here because I've got nowhere else to go and you for some reason thought it was a good idea to invite me to stay when you found me.
I get it, I'm O SO GREATFUL to have a fucking roof over my head, no need to rub it in.
If you're asking me if I'm cutting myself, my answer's no. That's my final answer and it will not change.
Do NOT ever bring this up again to me or I'll actually literally kill you."

Phoenix begins to stop out the doorway again.

ORIE:
"...But-"

PHOENIX:
"Bye."

Orie stares into the doorway as Phoenix dissapears into the hall.

She sighs. This wasn't what she needed to hear at all right now.

She wishes she could help Phoenix somehow, but she clearly has trouble opening up, and lashes out toward Orie when pressed.

Besides, she has a hard enough time dealing with her own mental issues, even if they tend to be hidden below surface level for other people.

Orie reluctantly accepts the fact theat she won't be able to get through to Phoenix and picks her controller back up to play more Celeste.

Meanwhile, through the hall, in Phoenix's Lair...

Phoenix storms into the room, barging past Arakados in front of her MusicBoxe DJ System. She barely even looks away from the screen with her red eyes.

ARAKADOS:
"Oh hi. You look like someone stepped on your tail."

PHOENIX:
"DON'T-"

Phoenix stops before getting to her bed. She turns to Arakados with an apologetic look.

PHOENIX:
"I'm... sorry. But please...don't start with that."

ARAKADOS:
"Oh, alrighty then."

PHOENIX:
"Thanks..."

Phoenix flops onto her bed with anger and pretends to go to sleep.

Arakados continues searching through Phoenix's computer, but this time, outside of the song lists. She had overheard Phoenix from across the hall due to the lack of doors.

She silently chuckles to herself about how devious she is, and wonders what kind of secrets Phoenix would have elsewhere.

It's only a matter of time before they're uncovered